Deuteronomy 34:1

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab,.... Where the Israelites had lain encamped for some time, and where Moses had repeated to them the law, and all that, is contained in this book of

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, Moses went up from the plains of Moab.

CHAPTER 34 Moses from Mount Nebo vieweth the land, . He dieth there, . His burial, . His age, . Thirty days’ mourning for him, . Joshua succeedeth him, . The praises of Moses, . Moses went up, in compliance with God’ s will, that he should then and there resign up his soul to God. Of the mountain of Nebo, see 32:38 . Of the land of Gilead Moses had as yet seen and enjoyed but a small part. Of this land, see ,19, &c. Unto Dan; to that city which after Moses’ s death was called Dan, . So that here is an anticipation. But it seems most probable, and is commonly believed, that this chapter was not written by Moses, but by Eleazar, or Joshua, or Ezra, or some other man of God, directed herein by the Holy Ghost; this being no more impeachment to the Divine authority of this chapter, that the penman is unknown, which also is the lot of some other books of Scripture, than it is to the authority of the acts of the king or parliament, that they are written or printed by some unknown person.

Deuteronomy 34:1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that [is] over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,Ver. 1. And Moses went up.] With as good a will to die, as ever he did to dine; for it was but (as that martyr said) winking a little, and he was in heaven immediately.

XXXIV. DEATH OF MOSES.(1) Pisgah.—See Numbers 21:20. The word seems to mean a height. (1, 2) The Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali . . . unto the utmost sea—that is, He showed him all the land which was to be given to these several tribes. Whether He then showed it to him under the names which are given here or not is a question we cannot answer. Many deeply interesting queries suggest themselves here. Did Moses go up alone? or did Joshua accompany him? Who wrote these particulars of what was shown to him, and how were the particulars known? I am disposed to believe that as Elijah and Elisha “still went on and talked,” until that chariot of fire appeared which “parted them both asunder,” so it was with Moses and Joshua—that Moses’ minister attended him until Jehovah withdrew him from his sight. But it speaks well for Joshua’s character—in fact, it is altogether characteristic of the man—that in this record of the death of the great lawgiver he should have concealed himself and every other figure from sight except Jehovah and His servant Moses. Rashi, in his comment on this scene, says that the Lord showed Moses not only the land, but what should happen therein, in every part. But of this we know nothing. We know that the spectacle was complete. Probably “the eye that was not dim” was enabled to see farther than human eye ever saw from such a height before. “The utmost sea” is full fifty miles away from that spot.

CHAPTER XXXIV Moses goes up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, and God shews him the whole extent of the land which he promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, 1-4. There Moses died, and was so privately buried by the Lord that his sepulchre was never discovered, 5, 6. His age and strength of constitution, 7. The people weep for him thirty days, 8. Joshua being filled with the spirit of wisdom, the Israelites hearken to him, as the Lord commanded them, 9. The character of Moses as a prophet, and as a worker of the most extraordinary miracles, both in the sight of the Egyptians, and the people of Israel: conclusion of the Pentateuch, 10-12. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIV Verse 1. And Moses went up] This chapter could not have been written by Moses. A man certainly cannot give an account of his own death and burial. We may therefore consider Moses's words as ending with the conclusion of the preceding chapter, as what follows could not possibly have been written by himself. To suppose that he anticipated these circumstances, or that they were shown to him by an especial revelation, is departing far from propriety and necessity, and involving the subject in absurdity; for God gives no prophetic intimations but such as are absolutely necessary to be made; but there is no necessity here, for the Spirit which inspired the writer of the following book, would naturally communicate the matter that concludes this. I believe, therefore, that Deut. xxxiv., should constitute the first chapter of the book of Joshua. On this subject the following note from an intelligent Jew cannot be unacceptable to the reader: - "Most commentators are of opinion that Ezra was the author of the last chapter of Deuteronomy; some think it was Joshua, and others the seventy elders, immediately after the death of Moses; adding, that the book of Deuteronomy originally ended with the prophetic blessing upon the twelve tribes: 'Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord,' c. and that what now makes the last chapter of Deuteronomy was formerly the first of Joshua, but was removed from thence and joined to the former by way of supplement. This opinion will not appear unnatural if it be considered that sections and other divisions, as well as points and pauses, were invented long since these books were written; for in those early ages several books were connected together, and followed each other on the same roll. The beginning of one book might therefore be easily transferred to the end of another, and in process of time be considered as its real conclusion, as in the case of Deuteronomy, especially as this supplemental chapter contains an account of the last transactions and death of the great author of the Pentateuch." - Alexander's Heb. and Eng. Pentateuch. This seems to be a perfectly correct view of the subject.

1. Moses went up] As commanded, Deuteronomy 3:27, Deuteronomy 32:49. plains of Moab] Heb. ‘arbτth Mo’ab, the parts of the ‘Arabah (see on Deuteronomy 1:1) reckoned as Moabite. The designation is peculiar to P, who gives it as Israel’s last camp before crossing Jordan, Numbers 33:48-50, cp. Numbers 22:1; Numbers 26:3; Numbers 26:63; Numbers 31:12; Numbers 35:1; Numbers 36:13, Joshua 13:32, which place these ‘steppes’ on Jordan and opposite Jericho. According to Deuteronomy 3:24-29 Moses ascended Nebo from Israel’s immediately previous camp in the glen over against Beth-Pe‘or, which is above the Jordan valley. But ‘arbτth Mo’ab may have been loosely held to cover this higher hollow that debouches on the ‘Arabah. unto mount Nebo, the headland of the Pisgah] The former is P’s name for the mount (Deuteronomy 32:49), the latter that of E (Numbers 21:20; Numbers 23:14) and deuteron. writers, see on Deuteronomy 3:17. It is the headland which breaks from the plateau of Moab between Heshbon and Medaba under the name en-Nebβ (= ‘mountain-back,’ Dalman MNPDV, 1900, p. 23) or en-Nebβ, and runs out to the S. of the W. ‘Uyϋn Musa upon the N. end of the Dead Sea. From the high edge of the Plateau it dips a little, and so loses the view to the E.—Israel’s desert horizons for 40 years—but the bulk of W. Palestine is in sight; only at first the nearer side of the Jordan valley is invisible, and N. and S. the view is hampered by the parallel headlands. Further W. however it rises somewhat into the Ras Siaghah, a promontory which, though lower than the Ras en-Nebβ, stands freer of the hills to N. and S. The whole of the ‘Arabah is now open from at least Engedi, and if the mist allows from still farther S., to where on the N. the hills of Gilead appear to meet those of Ephraim. The Jordan flows below, with Jericho visible beyond it. Over Gilead Hermon has been seen in fine weather. See further HGHL, 562 ff. over against Jericho] Lit. against the face of, i.e. (by Semitic orientation) to the E. of. all the Land—Gilead unto Dan, etc.] Not as in EVV. the land of Gilead. Dan itself, either Tell-el-Ḳ ?adi, on one of the sources of Jordan, or more probably on the neighbouring spur of Ḥ ?ermon above Banias (see above Deuteronomy 33:22, and HGHL, 473, 481), is not visible, but Ḥ ?ermon above it is sometimes seen; and Dan is mentioned as the N. limit of the land.

Dan - This can hardly be the Dan (Dan-Laish) of Judges 18:27 ff, which was not in Gilead.

1. The plains of Moab — That level tract north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. Here the tribes were encamped preparing for the crossing of the Jordan and the conquest of the Promised Land.